I don't have time for 10000 word essay on Poland that no one would read and no time for a big multiqoute

As for "not speaking Polish", it happens only in posh places I think and it's a pastime(?) of (hopefully not that many) young people who want to be middle class soon, they consider themselves Europeans first and foremost, for them everything Polish is provincial and backward, and they want to appear modern and cosmopolitan. I can be a very fierce critic of Poland at times but they take it to ridiculous extremes.

As for "waiting two hours for a waiter if you're not a foreigner" in gaitare's city: it's an exxageration I think but similar things used to happen. My city (Kraków) is considered to be the most beautiful in Poland (some will disagree) and it is usually full of tourists, the Main Square itself is very tourist-oriented and the managament might have encouraged the staff to "avoid" young Poles who, in their eyes, "sip one beer for 4 hours and the bill is small". Off the Main Square it doesn't happen I think.

The quality of service in Poland has been generally poor since 1989, we Poles just can't "serve" to other people, especially other Poles, we find it very degrading, it is not in our blood. And in the communism times the waiter or the shop assistant was the boss because there was a deficiency in everything. But this has been changing as well and the service is becoming more and more "professional" and we're definitely on the right track with that.

I'm getting it more and more often but I'm still a bit surprised whenever it happens

same here

well, i was a visitor in gaitare's city (which is not the most beautiful city in poland btw) between 2006 and 2009 either alone, with my parents or with my foreign ex bf a few times... the service was the best in the last case
also anytime they heard us speaking english on the street, we were invited to posh clubs with door selection, while the young poles stood in a long queue and were often sent away

i do hope these trends are changing over there; this year in warsaw i was positively surprised all the time last year in sopot too (but only when i was with mom and not with my friend of similar age)

I don't have time for 10000 word essay on Poland that no one would read and no time for a big multiqoute

I would've totally read your essay.

Quote:

As for "not speaking Polish", it happens only in posh places I think and it's a pastime(?) of (hopefully not that many) young people who want to be middle class soon, they consider themselves Europeans first and foremost, for them everything Polish is provincial and backward, and they want to appear modern and cosmopolitan. I can be a very fierce critic of Poland at times but they take it to ridiculous extremes.

Reminds me a bit of when I stayed at the W Hotel in Taipei and how the Taiwanese staff, upon hearing my BF speak English (his Mandarin is awful), kept dropping English phrases at random while dominantly speaking in Mandarin. Unlike Singapore where the people here genuinely speak like that (and it makes me cringe my face off), it seemed like they were trying to impress.

But I agree - that's really ridiculous. I used to not really like my own culture when I was younger and practically worshipped the West. Thankfully I saw the error of my ways pretty early on.

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Originally Posted by Gagsquet

Tripwires: friendzoned guys since 2001.

Why 2001?

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Originally Posted by Li Ching Yuen

Doesn't do it on purpose. She already has 4-5 boyfriends on the side. Just in case.

No room left.

I wish.

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Originally Posted by Nathaliia

same here

well, i was a visitor in gaitare's city (which is not the most beautiful city in poland btw) between 2006 and 2009 either alone, with my parents or with my foreign ex bf a few times... the service was the best in the last case
also anytime they heard us speaking english on the street, we were invited to posh clubs with door selection, while the young poles stood in a long queue and were often sent away

i do hope these trends are changing over there; this year in warsaw i was positively surprised all the time last year in sopot too (but only when i was with mom and not with my friend of similar age)

Does this mean I'd get great service when I go to Poland because I speak English, or would I be ignored because I'm Asian?